


Lorelai

by HodnesLaikKwelnes



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Kid Fic, Multi, Time Travel, kind of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-04 10:37:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12769248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HodnesLaikKwelnes/pseuds/HodnesLaikKwelnes
Summary: Alex's hair is shorter and she looks more in shape than you've ever seen her before.J'onn, you notice now, has none of his usual grey hair. Though you know it's all just a façade to blend in with the humans, it still freaks you out to see him look so different.How did you not realize sooner?You slowly back up from your mom until your back hits a wall and all you can get out is a breathless "What year is it?"or,A 10 year old Lori Luthor-Danvers travels to the past and it's all a bit of a mess.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an idea that has been stuck in my head for a very long time so I decided to finally do something with it. This doesn't take place before or after any episode in particular, it's just _there_.
> 
> Feel free to let me know what you think, I appreciate constructive criticism!
> 
> Also, English isn't my first language so if you notice any mistakes please point it out to me!
> 
> Thank you for reading!

The first thing that comes to your mind is that you fell asleep on the floor at your aunt Alex's house again watching a movie with Olivia. But then you remember that Alex and Olivia are in Midvale for a couple of weeks visiting your grandma so it's not possible.

But you're definitely on _a_ floor, and your whole body aches so you must have been on it for a while. But it doesn't make sense. So you open your eyes to see where you are and why but the lights are bright and it makes you close them again right away.  
Thankfully though, you've been at the DEO often enough to know instantly that that's where you are. No other place has that much concrete everywhere.

But you're still confused because you're not supposed to be at the DEO today. You go sometimes, with your mom, when the babysitter (aka Lucy) isn't available, but most of the time you end up at work with your ma' because they don't like you hanging out at a secret governmental agency that much. Go figure.

But today, you're supposed to be at school.  
You remember now. It's a Tuesday, and you were excited this morning because your ma' has been away on a business trip for the past week and she was finally coming back today. And she was supposed to pick you up. You had been counting down the days and everything.

But now you're on the floor of the DEO and suddenly you realize there's noise all around you. Hushed voices talking over each other, people typing away at computers, guns cocking…

_Guns cocking._

That makes you open your eyes quickly and before you know it you're sitting up and starring at a dozen agents pointing their guns at you. 

This is either a prank or a mistake, but either way, your moms will _not_ be happy about this. You're about to say something when a familiar brunette walks closer to you, gun aimed at your head.

"Who are you?" She speaks angrily, finger on the trigger.

Never in a million years would you have thought that _Alex_ would ever speak to you like that. It's like she doesn't know you at all; she doesn't have that _love_ in her eyes that she usually has when she's around you. It breaks your heart and it makes uncontrollable tears appear in your eyes.

She must see the distraught look on your face because she frowns, not enough for the average person to see, but you notice because she's your _family_. Though she doesn't seem to know that.

"Alex." A voice to your right says. It's familiar but you can't place it; as if you hadn't heard it in a long time or something. So you turn your head just enough to see who it is and you frown when you see Maggie Sawyer standing there, walking over to your aunt and putting a calming hand on her shoulder.

Alex has told you all about Maggie Sawyer. Your moms too. You've only met her once, a few years ago, you randomly ran into her when you were hanging out with Alex and Olivia; it was the most awkward encounter you have ever witnessed to this day. Except now they seem perfectly comfortable in each other's presence and you don't understand.

They used to date but they broke up because Maggie didn't want kids. They didn't talk for years after that until they ran into each other that one day. From what you know, they haven't even talked since then. Not in person anyway.

"Maggie?" You didn't mean to say that out loud, but you obviously did because her head snaps towards you, along with Alex's.

"How do you know her name?!" Alex asks threateningly, gun still pointed at you, and once again, you're completely taken aback by her tone.

You know this isn't a prank, because this would just be cruel, and your aunt is anything but that. When it comes to you anyway; criminals aren't always so lucky.  
And if this isn't a prank, something must be very _very_ wrong.

You don't remember anything after that so you're pretty sure that's when you black out.

* * *

When you come to again, you're somewhere softer. Definitely a bed, you decide, when you feel a pillow under your head. 

You instantly remember what happened earlier and you're almost scared to open your eyes, but you know you can't just pretend to be asleep forever - _though you do consider it_ \- so you open them anyway.

You're still at the DEO, but this time you're in the med bay. A couple of agents are standing at the foot of your bed, none that you recognize, and when they see you awake, one of them leaves the room without sparing you a second glance.

You try to sit up but you can't because you're cuffed to the bed, and that makes you panic. You don't like small spaces or being restricted, your moms and aunt know this, so why would they allow it?

"Is my mom here?" You ask the remaining guard in a shaky voice and he looks at you untrustingly but doesn't respond.

Only a few seconds later, the guard from before comes back followed by Alex and J'onn.

"Papa." You whisper to yourself, but not loud enough for any of them to hear you.

You've known him long enough to know that that look on his face is him trying to read your mind, but he taught you years ago how to stop people - or well, aliens and metahumans - including himself, from doing so, yet it appears to leave him perplexed when he can't seem to access your thoughts.

He gives Alex a look that says he wasn't successful and it deepens her frown, if that's even possible.

"I'm going to ask you again, and this time I'd like an answer. Who are you?" She says sternly, and it makes you shiver, but at least you don't have a gun pointed at you this time. What you wouldn't give to see your moms right now.

"I'm Lori." You answer as if that's common knowledge, because _it is_ , everyone here knows you. You grew up around those people, they're your friends and family, you _know_ them. But apparently they don't know you.

"Where are you from?" She asks then and you frown.

"National City." You answer slowly. "Alex, why are you asking me all of this? Why am I cuffed to the bed, and where is my _mom_?" You ask finally in a shaky voice. 

"Your mom?" She asks confused. "Is she here with you?"

"I don't know where she is!" You yell out and you realize you're crying now. Not full on sobs, but you're tired, scared and confused, and you're only 10 goddammit, you just want to go home.

"Search the building, she might not be alone." Alex says to one of the guards and he gives her a nod before leaving the room in a hurry followed by the second guard, leaving you with only J'onn and Alex.

"What are you?" Is the unexpected question that comes from J'onn after a moment of silence.

"What do you _mean_?" You ask exasperatedly. They're not making _any sense_.

"Are you from this planet?" He clarifies carefully.

"Of course I am, you know this!" You exclaim frustrated. "Look, I don't know what's going on but I really don't like my movements being restricted so _please_ , uncuff me?" You plead, tears still slowly streaming down your face.

Alex seems to take pity on you because she slowly approaches the bed, keys in hand and slowly and carefully uncuffs you.

"You better not do anything stupid." She still warns and you scoff, you're not that stupid, thank you very much.

"Fighting a trained DEO agent? Yeah, no thanks." You say as your rub at your wrists and finally sit up in a more comfortable position.

Before they can ask you anything else, the agent from before walks back into the room and addresses Alex directly. "The building is clear ma'am, if she came here with anyone, they're gone." 

She nods at him and he leaves as fast as he came before she turns back to you.

"How do you know about the DEO? And how did you get here?" She asks, growing impatient.

"I don't know how I got here Alex!" You say exasperated. "All I remember was going to getting ready for school this morning, and then… this! And nothing makes sense! You're both looking at me as if we've never met before, _Maggie_ of all people is here but my mom isn't yet which now that I think about it is… weird." You say, angry than confused. "Oh god, she's not hurt is she Alex? Please tell me she's okay." You ask worryingly, but they're both looking at you as if you've grown a second head. Which, seeing as how your morning has been, you wouldn't be surprised really.

"What do you mean, 'as if we've never met before'?" Alex asks, definitely confused now.

"You're asking me all this questions that you already know the answer of, and I just want to go home okay? I want to see my moms." You say with a shaky voice, frustrated and worried that she won't answer your question about your mom.

"'Moms'?" Alex asks but gets ignored when J'onn speaks up.

"Who are we to you, Lori?" He asks hesitantly.

"You're my family." You reply with an obvious shrug. "My aunt Alex and Papa J'onn." You add when they look like you've just told them teleportation isn't possible anymore. God that would be terrible.

"Papa J'onn…?" J'onn asks confused, as if what you had just said wasn't clear enough.

"You hate it when we call you grandpa, and you love _Papa John's_ pizza so." You point out with an amused roll of your eyes.

" _We_? Who is we?" J'onn asks with a frown.

"Olivia and I, who else?" You ask confused. Did they lose some of their memory somehow? Is that even possible?

"Olivia? Is that your mother's name?" He asks, getting closer to you.

"No, that's my cousin. Papa, you know this, what's going on?" You ask with a small involuntary whimper.

Alex, who has been silent for a moment, finally speaks up. "I'm your _aunt_?" She asks incredulously.

"Yes!" You say throwing your hands in the air exasperatedly.

"But if you're my… niece, then who's your-" before she can finish her sentence, the blonde you had desperately been waiting for appears at the door in a red and blue attire.

"Hey Alex, Winn told me we had a bit of a situation?" She asks as she walks into the room.

"Supergirl-" J'onn starts.

"Mom!" You shout happily before jumping off of the bed and running over to where the blonde is standing, quickly and tightly hugging her, ecstatic to see that she's perfectly fine despite your earlier worry.

But you're only happy for about 5 seconds because soon enough you realize that the room is deadly silent and that your mom isn't hugging you back, she's just _standing_ there with you awkwardly wrapped around her.  
So you pull back slowly and look at her with a frown, which she returns tenfold.

"Mom?" You ask shakily.

"I-" She stutters, but fails to say anything.

That's when you finally notice what she's wearing and you're deeply confused because that's an old suit. It's so old in fact that you've never even seen her in it, only in pictures. She's had like 4 upgrades since. And as you look at her face you notice that she looks different. Not that much because Kryptonian DNA is truly a gift, but her hair is longer, and she has less wrinkles, or well, pretty much none at all.

So you look back at the other two in the room and you notice that they look different too. 

Alex's hair is shorter and she looks more in shape than you've ever seen her before.  
J'onn, you notice now, has none of his usual grey hair. Though you know it's all just a façade to blend in with the humans, it still freaks you out to see him look so different.

_How did you not realize sooner? ___

You slowly back up from your mom until your back hits a wall and all you can get out is a breathless "What year is it?"

* * *

2017.

You're in _2017_.

How is that even _possible_?!

Well, you know it's _possible_ , but not for _you_. Some metahumans can travel through time, including your Uncle Barry, but it's not exactly _allowed_. Not for him anyway. The Legends do it too, but that's their _job_.

But you, you _can't_ travel through time! You've never done it, and honestly, it's not something that was on your bucket list. It's dangerous too; you could mess up the timeline! What if you mess up so badly that you get erased from existence? Or well, that sounds unlikely because you're adopted, but _Olivia_ could get erased. You could never get adopted. 

You're having a panic attack. You know you are, you can feel your heart hammering in your chest, and you can't breathe. You know your mom - _Kara_ , she's not your mom here - is trying to talk you through it, but it's not working. You can't even hear what she's saying. All you hear is your heart pounding and your shallow breaths. You're curled up on the floor against the wall, hugging your knees to your chest; you can't move. 

"Her name is Lori right? That's what you said?" You hear Kara ask Alex, but it sounds as if she's miles away. She's crouching right in front of you though.

And it makes you panic even more. Your own mom doesn't know who you are. She has no idea. You don't even _exist_ in 2017. For what you remember your moms telling you, they're not even dating yet. They're just _friends_.

And Alex. Alex is still with Maggie at this point. Olivia doesn't exist. 

J'onn isn't with M'gann. All of your school friends aren't born yet. Winn can't be your favorite uncle because he's not even an uncle yet. Lucy is still in Metropolis.

(Clark, or _Kal-El_ , is still an asshole though, that you're pretty sure of. At least something is still the same.)

Your head is starting to hurt now. You're not sure if it's from the lack of oxygen or because of the thousands thoughts going through your head, but you don't like it. 

You've had a few panic attacks before, but never any this bad. Most of them were before you were adopted, but when you had one while living with your moms, your ma' always helped you through them, used to them herself. Except that your ma' isn't here right now. She's not even your ma' yet.

"Lori, I need you to take slow deep breaths okay? Can you do that for me?" Kara asks you and you try, you really do, but it's not working and your heart starts to beat even faster.

You know she can hear it because you can see her start to panic. You feel like you're going to pass out. Your vision is starting to get blurry.

"Lori, breath." J'onn says as he crouches next to Kara. "I know you're scared, and worried, but we're going to figure this out together, I promise. Try breathing with me. In and out. Slowly." He says firmly but calmly. 

You're not sure how but he manages to calm you down. He keeps his distance, which you appreciate, but he keeps talking, always making sure your attention is on him and only him. It takes a good 20 minutes but at least you don't pass out. _Again_. 

By the time your breathing has returned to normal, you're exhausted. Your eyes are dropping against your will; you know you'll be asleep soon. Kara and J'onn are still in front of you, making sure you don't panic again, and Alex is watching from where she's leaning against the bed. 

When Kara reaches out to you, you don't flinch, but you almost want to. 

Carefully, the blonde carries you to the bed, and gently puts you under the covers, in almost a motherly way, and you want to cry some more at that thought but you're too tired. You're asleep even before you're even completely settled.

* * *

When you wake up, you're disoriented. For a moment you're certain that you're at home, in bed, and that you're waking up for school. But then you think about school, and your ma' that is supposed to be coming back and… yeah, you remember now.

You open your eyes slowly, and you're thankful for the dimmed lights. You're still in the med bay but you think it might be night time now. There are no windows here but the overall atmosphere screams 'middle of the night'. 

You sit up slowly, rubbing your eyes, grateful to see that they didn't cuff you to the bed again. Nobody else is in the room, not even a guard, but knowing them, your mom is listening to you very closely, so you're expecting to see someone walk through the door any second now. Your mom has told you before that your heart rate changes when you're awake, which she's usually always listening to.

Except that you sit there for a good 5 minutes and nothing happens. No one comes in, and no one walks by the room's open door. Which is weird. The DEO is always active.

So you decide to get up and see where everyone is because again, it's weird. You figure that if someone shows up out of nowhere and claims to be from the future, and _related_ to Supergirl, there'd be more supervision. You'll have to have a talk with your future-mom about all of this once you get home.

( _If_ you get home).

Thankfully you know your way around the DEO pretty well, so you find the main operation center in less than a minute. And you're glad to see that it's less dead than the med bay. 

You see Alex and J'onn staring at the big screen, looking at what seems to be some sort of blueprint.

They seem to be in the middle of an operation. Your mom isn't anywhere to be seen so you figure she's out there somewhere, fighting crime.

Winn is at a computer next to Vasquez, they're talking quietly to each other as they type away and it makes you smile. It's weird to see them all so young. You'll definitely have to tease him about that outfit when - _if_ \- you go back to your time.

"Good job Supergirl, we'll be waiting for you here." Alex says staring at the screen but you know that she's talking through her earpiece.

"Agent Danvers." An agent says from directly behind you, making you jump at the unexpected noise.

Alex turns in your direction and frowns when she sees you standing there.

"What are you doing?" She asks, walking towards you.

"I woke up and nobody was there." You explain slowly. "I'm hungry." You add, because you really are, you haven't eaten anything in… you're not even sure how long.

"We'll get you some food. Go back to the med bay." She instructs and she gives a look to the agent still standing behind you that indicates that she wants him to go with you, to make sure you don't wander around or something.

"Sure, but please bring me something else than DEO food; it's worse than hospital food." You reply with a disgusted face, turning to walk back to where you came from.

"How do you know that?" She says, making you stop in your tracks.

"Did you miss the whole panic attack thing when you told me we were in 2017 or…?" You ask, raising an eyebrow, a trick you learned from your ma'.

You almost laugh at the look on Alex's face.

"So you _are_ from another time then?" She asks to confirm.

"2031." You say with a nod.

"Holy shit." You hear from behind Alex and when you look over you see Winn standing there, mouth slightly open.

"Winslow!" You say happily, with a teasing smirk because you know how much he hates his full name. You and him have that in common.

He almost chokes on his own spit and it makes you laugh. "You- you know who I am." He says incredulously.

"Of course, you're my favorite uncle." You reply with a shrug.

" _Uncle_?" He squeaks out just as Supergirl lands next to them.

"Who's an uncle?" She asks clueless, as she catches her breath.

" _Me_ , apparently. Because you have a _kid_ Kara." He says and you see him starting to turn a little red. That happens to him when he's not in control or when he's _really_ excited about something; you're not sure which it is at the moment though.

"Winn! This is _Supergirl_!" Alex whispers harshly to him with wild hand gestures and you raise your eyebrow again because, _seriously_?

"I know Supergirl's name you know, since she's my mom and all." You point out, amused. Your aunt Alex gets a lot smarter in the future, that's for sure.

"Look kid, we still don't know where you came from and if you're telling the truth, so please go back to the med bay and wait for us here." She says dismissively and gestures to the lingering agent to take you.

He grabs you by the shoulder but you shrug him off because you can walk on your own, thank you very much. 

"My name is _Lori_ , not kid." You say as you turn and walk away.

You're a little disappointed, but you understand that they might not believe you. They've been under attack from aliens pretending to not be aliens so much that if you were in their shoes, you'd probably be wary too.

But your mom has barely looked at you since she got back and that's what probably hurts the most.

Where you're from, Kara Danvers makes everything better. She lights up a room. Hugs you every chance she gets. Your ma' calls her _sunshine_ for Rao's sake. You miss that. Miss them.

* * *

"What's your last name, Lori?" J'onn asks.

They've just started asking you questions. Well, J'onn has. Alex is observing the whole thing warily and your mom is here too but she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else. Winn is watching too but you know it's more from curiosity than distrust.

"I don't think I can tell you that." You answer, biting your lip.

"Why not?" Alex asks defensively.

"It might mess up the timeline. If I say or do something that may influence the future, than everything could change." You explain with a frown.

"But you're… my daughter?" Your mom speaks up for the first time.

"Yeah." You say as you look down at your fidgeting hands. "My last name does contain Danvers. It just… has something else in it." You try to explain without giving too much away.

"So I'm married and I… hyphenated?" She asks slowly, seeming uncomfortable at the thought.

"You guys couldn't agree on which name to keep." You reply simply with a shrug.

"And you're human?" The blonde asks, biting her lip in confusion.

"I'm adopted." You explain with a nod.

"Oh." She acknowledges but stays silent after that. You figure it's a lot to swallow.

"And you have absolutely no idea how you got here?" J'onn asks, changing the subject.

"No, I mean, the only people I know capable of time travel are The Flash and the Legends, but they're _literally_ in another universe, and they definitely wouldn't have just dropped me off _14 years_ in the past with no explanation." You say, shaking your head. 

That headache you had earlier is definitely coming back now.

"She knows The Flash, she can't possibly be lying Alex." Winn points out, his voice shaky with what seems to be excitement.

Alex looks at you with a glint of something in her eyes and asks "What's his real name?"

"Barry Allen." You reply easily.

"See?" Winn exclaims excitedly.

"Maybe she's mind reading?" Alex asks more to herself than anything, though she's still looking at you.

"J'onn?" Kara asks worryingly.

"I can't access her thoughts, but that doesn't mean that she's able to access ours." He says with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I'm not mind-reading! I'm human, if you don't believe me, take my blood and test it. I don't care. And Pa- …J'onn, you taught me how to block mind-readers out when I was little." You explain exasperated. 

What on earth do you have to do for them to believe you? If they don't believe you, they won't help you understand how you got here and won't help you figure out how to go back.

" _I_ taught you?" He asks with a frown.

"My mom is _Supergirl_ , and my ma' is… powerful too. I've been a target since the day I met them. In case someone tried to use me for information, you wanted me, and them, to be protected." 

" _'Ma'_?" Kara squeaks out in a whisper.

You feel bad, because you know that right now, she still hasn't figured out her feelings for your ma'. She hasn't even realized that she likes girls yet. So you're kind of sorry to be dropping this bomb on her, and you hope it won't affect the future too badly, because you can't take it back now.

You don't say anything, preferring to let her process on her own, but Alex sends her a confused look before looking back at you.

"We'll have to do tests. I need to be sure." Alex says, getting her serious face back on.

"Sure, no problem." You say with a shrug. 

"In the meantime, you'll have to stay here. And someone will have to watch you." She says turning to the other occupants of the room as if looking for volunteers.

" _ME!_ " Winn shouts before Alex can even properly finish her sentence. He raises his arm and everything, and it's so typically him that it makes you giggle.

It breaks Kara out of whatever trance she was in and she looks up alarmed.

"We'll be taking turns; you have a day job, and so does Kara." Alex says shaking her head at herself. "But sure, you take first shift Winn."

" _'First shift'_? Am I like a prisoner now?" You ask with a scoff. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Until we know more, you are, just be grateful that you're not in lock up." Alex says on a tone that makes you flinch. 

She leaves the room immediately after that, followed by J'onn, leaving you with Winn and Kara.

Winn excitedly comes to sit on the edge of the bed, already asking you a million questions but you don't hear any of them. You're looking at your mom, and she's looking at you in a way you haven't seen before. She almost looks sad. You don't know what to do, but before you can think about it too much, she's gone too.

"Are we able to travel to other planets in the future? I mean, us, mortal humans." That's what your ear when you focus back on him, and he looks slightly out of breath but still overly excited.

"Winn, I need you to get me out of here." Is what you reply with and it takes him a moment to understand what just came out of your mouth.

"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" He asks with that nervous sort of laugh he has.

"After they take my blood, they'll be focused on running their test and won't be as vigilant about my whereabouts, especially if I'm supposed to be with you. We can do it then." You tell him, forming the plan in your mind.

"No, no way. Are you _insane_? I could get arrested for like, treason!" He whisper-yells back at you.

"Don't be dramatic. You won't get arrested." You say rolling your eyes. "Plus I'm not going to go out there and wreak havoc; I just don't want to be here right now. So _please_ Winn, help me out."

"How do you know whether I'm gonna get arrested?" He asks suspiciously. " _Oh my god_ , has this _happened_ before?!" He asks, but forgets to whispers this time, which alerts a random agent walking by. Thankfully he seems used to Winn's antics and doesn't stick around.

"Don't be ridiculous. I just know that you're too important to my- to Kara. She would never let you get locked up." You tell him with a roll of your eyes.

"Really?" He asks with a goofy smile. "So we're like, still friends in the future right? And I still work here?" He asks still excited.

"You're not just a friend, you're family." You answer. It makes him smile bigger, but it doesn't last.

" _Ugh_ , don't try and distract me with feelings! I'm not breaking you out of the DEO." He says sternly, shaking his head.

"Look, I don't belong here. I can't stay here. In this time I mean. My mom looks at me like… like she doesn't recognize me, like she doesn't love me. And yeah sure, I know that's the case right now, but it _hurts_. She's my best friend, yet she won't even stay in the same room as me. And the person that is most likely to be able to help me get back to my time, to my _family_ , is out there, not here. So please Winn, help me." You don't realize that you're crying right away, but the sad look on his face tips you off.

You quickly wipe at the tears, and look down at the bed sheet so that you don't have to look at the pity on his face.

"Who is it?" He asks quietly.

"What?" You reply confused, looking up with a frown.

"The person that can help you, who is it?" He clarifies.

"Ma'". You say simply, not wanting to get into too much detail.

You can tell he doesn't want to pry, so he keeps quiet for a few seconds, until he looks at you with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you." He says with a large grin.

"What? No, I need you to cover for me, from here. Plus, you knowing who Ma' is might affect the timeline! And honestly, if that stops me from getting adopted in the future, I am _so_ coming for you Winslow." You say as threateningly as possible, hoping that that'll change his mind.

"And what do you think will happen if they find me here without you? Alex scares the _shit_ out of me, there's no way I'm not telling her everything if she questions me. You know, she knows over _200_ ways to kill someone. She told me all of them once." He says looking a little nauseated, getting up from the bed to pace the room. "And I promise to make it my life mission to make sure you get adopted in the future. And I won't tell Kara anything. Scout's honor." 

"First off, you were never a Scout Winn. Second, you know Alex has a soft spot for you right?" You say amused at his rambling.

"Alex Danvers, a soft spot for me? Funny." He replies with a snort.

"Winn, you're literally the godfather to her daughter. She _loves_ you. In a platonic kind of way of course because, well you know, _lesbian_ ; but yeah, she wouldn't kill you. Torture, _maybe_ , but I wouldn't bet on it." You say and you laugh when you see his eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

" _GODFATHER?!_ " He says in that weird whisper-yell way again and it's your turn to snort.

"Chill, you're gonna have an aneurism." You laugh, but you sober up almost immediately when Alex walks into the room, followed by a couple people that seem to be doctors.

For half a second you're scared that she has heard your conversation with Winn, but you know she didn't when she immediately starts talking about what exactly they're going to be doing, and why. You appreciate it, because you really don't like needles, but you know it's necessary in this case, so when the first needle pierces the skin of your arm, you close your eyes and power through it the best you can.

* * *

They're done almost an hour later, and it's morning now. Alex had a watch on and you were able to see that it was almost 7am.

As soon as Alex and the doctors are out of the room, Winn is by your side again.

"Okay, I have a plan. Are we really doing this?" He asks, maybe a little too excited at the prospect of basically breaking you out of a secret governmental agency, but you nod nonetheless, getting up from your bed.

"We'll have to get around the guards, so we need a distraction. I can hack into the DEO servers and pretend there's an alien attack downtown, that way it'll be all hands on deck, Supergirl won't be here and we'll get a better chance." He explains rapidly with wild hand gestures.

"Are you sure that's going to work? We're only going to get one shot at this." You ask warily, though you don't doubt Winn's ability, you've seen him in action after all, but that was in the future, where he had more than a decade worth of experience hacking people for the DEO.

"Of course I'm sure; I'm no amateur you know. I even managed to hack Lena Luthor once." He states proudly and you snort before you can stop yourself.

"Yeah I know, and so did she buddy." You laugh out.

"What? No she didn't!" He exclaims back.

"Winn, please, we're talking about Lena here. She's a certified genius, literally. You're no match for her. Not now, and certainly not in the future." You say amused. "She _let you_ hack her."

"You're lying." He says defensively.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say." You snort again. "We should get started now though; how long is it going to take you?" You ask, walking closer to him when he lifts a tablet from a nearby table and starts typing what looks like Kryptonian to you.

"About 5 minutes." He replies while focused.

"Felicity could have done it in 1." You laugh quietly, mostly to yourself, but he hears anyway and looks _very_ offended.

"Who's this Felicity now?" He says exasperated.

"You'll find out soon enough, don't worry. You'll be very impressed by her. But word of advice for future you, don't hit on her. She's taken." You say with an amused smile.

"Noted." He says with a grimace. "Now, if you're done criticizing my skills, I'll get back to breaking you out of here. Unless you'd prefer _staying_?" He adds with a challenging look.

"Please, hack away." You say backing up to give him space.

It does indeed only take him about 5 minutes, and soon after you hear agents hurrying about the DEO, signaling that it worked. _Nice_.

"Okay let's go." He says, making sure that the coast is clear before moving into the hallway.

Most of the agents are in the main control center, and the few that you walk by don't pay you any attention, making your escape easy enough.

You make it surprisingly far before you get interrupted. You're halfway to the exit, pretty much completely exposed, you can see everyone focusing on the 'situation' at hand, but they're too preoccupied to notice you, thankfully. When someone steps in front of the both of you though, stopping you in your tracks, you think you're busted but Winn just grabs your hand and starts chatting with what you thought was an agent.

"Mon-El, hey!" He exclaims, but quietly enough that Alex, who is only a few feet away, won't hear.

"Winn, what's up man?" He asks with a large smile. "You're not helping out with the rogue alien situation?"

"No, I uh- I'm babysitting my niece." He says a little too shakily to be very convincing but Mon-El doesn't seem to notice. You're not surprised.

"Oh? I didn't know you had a niece." He says looking at you with a smile. You _really_ hold yourself back from glaring at him.

"Yeah, my- my sister dropped her off unannounced. I'm taking her home. So I'll see you!" Winn says, obviously trying to get out of the conversation as fast as possible.

"Oh alright, see you man!" Mon-El says with a wave, stepping aside to let you pass.

You keep going, still holding tightly onto Winn's hand and keeping your head low. 

You're outside just a minute later, and you're really surprised by the lack of security at the door, but definitely grateful. You only look up when you can hear a car horn in front of you, indicating that you actually made it.

"We made it!" Winn whisper-yells, voicing your exact thoughts, with a huge smile. You're still walking, trying to get as far from the building as possible, but you have a spring in your step now.

Once you're a couple of blocks away, you slow down, and step into an alley just _in case_ someone has realized you're gone already.

"Well, that’s the closest I've ever come to a heart attack. Let's not do _that_ again." Winn says, taking deep breath.

You snort but nod your head in agreement.

"So that guy back there was Mon-El then?" You ask, putting your blonde hair into a messy ponytail.

"Yeah, why?" He asks then seems to realize what you just said. "Wait, you've never seen him before?"

"Nah, that guy is _long gone_ by the time I join the family." You say with a laugh.

" _What_? But he's our friend?" He asks confused.

"Friends don't stab you in the back." You say, patting him on the arm. "Okay, first thing first, I think I need some new clothes." You say looking down at what you're wearing.

Your clothing doesn't look _too_ strange for this time period, but if someone happened to look close enough, they would definitely figure out that something weird is going on.

"Uh yeah, sure. There's a mall a few blocks away?" He proposes with a shrug.

"No, that's too public. There must be somewhere else we can go that's not too far; we can't risk taking a cab." You say shaking your head.

"Why not?"

"Cabs have cameras, and so do malls. Too risky." You point out.

"Oh yeah, we're on _the run_!" He exclaims as if he has just realized that.

"No shit, Sherlock." You laugh quietly. "Okay so, in my time, there's a children clothing store a couple blocks away, maybe it's already there?" You say, pointing in the general direction of where you remember the store to be located.

"Alright, we'll give it a try then." He agrees and you walk to the entrance of the alley, making sure you can't see any DEO agents nearby before stepping out.

On your way to the store you take the opportunity to look around at this city you know so well. It doesn't look _too_ different but a few things have obviously changed. Some of your favorite shops aren't there yet but that restaurant that your mom had told you about countless of times is still in business; the cars are _way_ different but you knew they would be so you're not too surprised.

When you get to your destination, you're glad to see that the store does in fact already exist. It has a different name and layout but as long as it has the same purpose, you don't really care. Unfortunately, it _is_ only 7:30am by the time you get there so the store isn't open yet.

"Well, what are we gonna do now?" Winn asks, starting to panic slightly. "We're out in the open right now, they can totally find us."

"We'll just grab breakfast at Noonan's while we wait; it's just across the street." You reply easily with a shrug. "They didn't even bother bringing me food at the DEO." You add with an annoyed frown.

"That's Kara's favorite place; wouldn't that be a little risky?" He asks unsurely and it makes you roll your eyes.

"I really doubt that that's where she'll go looking for us." You say raising an eyebrow. "She'll probably just fly above the city trying to locate us, not come into Noonan's."

He considers your words for a moment before giving in with a sigh.

"Fine, we'll go, but we're leaving as soon as the shop opens." He says firmly, pointing a finger at said shop.

"Deal." You say with a nod. "Now please, can we go? I'm _starving_." You groan out, already moving towards the café.

"Damn, you really _are_ Kara's kid." He mutters under his breath, but you hear him clearly and giggle to yourself.

_He's about to be real confused._

* * *

"A green juice and an açai bowl? There's _no way_ you're Kara's kid." He says with a serious shake of his head once the waitress leaves after taking your order. 

"Technically, I'm not. But anyway, I like healthy food." You reply with a shrug.

"How did she take it when she found out?" He asks with an amused expression.

"She was fine with it; she's used to it with ma'. Plus it's not like I don't like pancakes or anything, I just prefer the green juice." You say looking around at the other patrons, curious to see if you recognize anyone.

"Wait your other mom likes healthy stuff? And Kara _married_ her? Well I'll be damned." He says with a laugh just before the waitress comes back with what you both ordered.

For a few minutes you both focus on eating before he freezes and looks up at you with wide eyes.

"Wait a minute, you said that your ma' likes healthy food and you didn't want to tell us your last name because we would recognize it which means we know her already. Holy shit, is it _Maggie_?!" He asks, whispering the last part as if anyone could hear you from your secluded booth.

" _What_? No! Are you crazy?" You reply with a full belly laugh.

"But- but Maggie's vegan, and we know her, and I was here when you arrived and you totally recognized her, and you were like surprised to see her with Alex so…" He trails off looking at you weirdly.

"It's not Maggie!" You insist with a laugh. "I was just surprised because she's not, _around_ , anymore." You explain softly with a shrug. "And I wasn't aware that I had time traveled then so yeah, I was confused, but definitely not because she's my mom." 

"What do you mean she's not around anymore? I thought her and Alex had a kid? You know, my _goddaughter_." He's confused, and you're not sure if you should tell him all of this, but you figure that you're in too deep already, so with a sigh, you explain.

"Olivia is Alex's daughter, but she's not Maggie's anything. They break up in early 2018 because Alex wants kids and Maggie doesn't. It's a mutual decision but it still hurts so they decide to not keep in touch." You say slowly with a shrug. 

"So is Olivia adopted too? How old is she? Does she like me? Is Alex seeing someone else?" He fires off at you the second you're done talking and his excitement almost makes you choke on your green juice.

"Do you ever chill?" You ask laughing.

"Not really, no." 

"You definitely calm down when you reach your thirties." You snort out.

"Rude." He huffs. "So?"

"Olivia isn't adopted and she's 12." You answer, though you don't want to share everything.

"She's not adopted?" He asks again confused.

"IVF." You say simply.

"Ohhh, makes sense." He replies with a nod.

"Winn?" A voice to your left asks and when you turn to see who it is you see a confused James.

"James! What's up man?" Winn asks happily before realizing that perhaps he shouldn't be.

"Kara has been looking for you. She called me completely panicked and said to let her know if I heard anything from you. What's going on?" He asks walking closer, looking at you with a frown.

"I uh- it's complicated," Winn replies, voice higher than usual.

"Well should I call her?" He asks, already moving to grab his phone from his pocket.

"No!" You and Winn shout simultaneously, making James' frown deeper.

"Look, you can't tell Kara where we are. It's complicated and we can't explain but you just have to trust me alright?" Winn explains quickly with a sigh.

" _'We'_?" James asks. "Care to introduce me?" 

Winn looks at you in a panicky way and you almost laugh but you manage to hold yourself back.

"Hi, I'm Lori. It's nice to meet you." You say with a smile.

"Okay, and why can't Kara know where you are?" He asks you as if you were a little _child_ and it makes you groan.

"It's complicated." You answer.

"You're expecting me to lie to Kara and the only explanation I get is that 'it's complicated'?" He asks Winn, disbelief written on his face.

" _Please_ James, it's really important that you don't tell her, or anyone at the DEO, where we are." Winn pleads with him and you can't tell that James isn't used to Winn asking something of him so he just stands there for a minute, pondering his words.

"Fine, I won't tell her, but I need you to tell me what's going on." He sighs out, moving to sit next to Winn in the booth.

"Promise?" You ask, finishing your green juice.

"Yeah sure." He replies with a shrug.

"Say it." You insist, resting your head on your fist, staring at him.

"What? I- I promise. There, happy?" He asks with a nervous chuckle.

"Very." You say with a satisfied smirk. "So, I'm from the future." You start.

" _What!_ " Is what loudly comes out of James' mouth next.

"Look I don't care if you panic, just panic quietly." You say looking around the café to make sure nobody's focused on your conversation.

When you look back at him his mouth is still open and Winn is laughing quietly.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long to update but I'm in the middle of my finals and when I finally get the time to write a little, I feel guilty about it hahaha.  
> But it's here! A little shorter than last time but hopefully you guys will like it anyway!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and again, please let me know what you think!
> 
> (and if you see any mistakes let me know, thanks)

Once James is up to date, he's definitely late for work, and as he goes to check his phone, he sees that he has half a dozen missed calls from Kara.

"She's going to kill me." He groans out, standing up hurriedly.

"Aren't you the boss? Just tell her you had a meeting or something." You tell him with a shrug.

"I'm just CatCo's art director, hardly what I would call the boss." He laughs. "But I guess I could tell her I was meeting with someone yeah, thanks Lori." He smiles at you gratefully, grabbing his half empty coffee cup on the table.

" _Right_ , you're welcome!" You answer with a smile maybe a tad too big.

_So Cat Grant is still in town then. Sweet._

"I better get going; I'll see you guys later?" He asks hesitantly.

"Perhaps." You say with a shrug. 

You honestly don't know, but you hope you won't if it means that you can just go home already.

"Right, well, good luck with everything I guess, and don't worry, I won't tell Kara I saw you." He swears.

"Thanks James." Winn replies with a grateful smile, and before he leaves, gives him a fist bump. 

Once he's gone you turn back to Winn with a frown.

"What are _you_ going to do about work? Because if you have to go you can, I can handle myself." You remark.

"It's fine, Eve owed me a favor so she's covering for me today." He reassures quickly. "We should go get you some clothes now though, and then head to wherever you're planning on going." He says as he's moving out of the booth.

You agree with a nod, standing up as well. "We're going to need a couple of blueberry and white chocolate muffins before we go though. Oh, and some cranberry and orange scones." You decide, walking closer to the counter to place your order.

"Dude, how are you still hungry?" He asks in awe, handing over some cash for you to pay with. "I thought you _weren't_ an alien." He whispers to you, making sure no one but you can hear him.

"I'm not, those aren't for me." You say, right before handing the cash over to the cashier.

"Then who did I just buy food for?" He asks confused.

"Jess." You reply simply, accepting the brown paper bag filled with baked goods being handed to you with a smile.

"Who's Jess?" He asks you confused, and that makes you just as confused.

"You don't know who Jess is?" You're not sure if he's teasing or not.

"Should I?" He asks, holding the door open for you as you walk out of Noonan's.

"Umm, yes? I mean, I thought you would by now. But I guess not." You answer, still confused. "Well, you'll meet her soon now I guess."

"Why? Who is she?" He asks, walking alongside you as you cross the road towards the now opened clothing store.

"She works at L-Corp; which is where we're headed after this." You explain, nodding in the direction of the store.

"Why are we going to L-Corp? I thought you wanted to go see your mother." 

He opens the door to the shop for you and you thank him with a smile but you still roll your eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, and we are." You say slowly, hoping that he'll understand what you're saying.

He's silent for a few seconds as you start to look around the shop and you groan at what you see.

_Everything is pink._ This is your worst nightmare.

You head towards a neutral looking section because you spot a few simple black items that look pretty nice, and Winn is quick to follow behind you.

"Wait! So your mom works at L-Corp then? Is it Jess?" He asks with wide-eyes.

"It's not Jess, but yes, she does work there." You say as you browse through leather jackets.

He hums pensively before focusing back on you. "A leather jacket? You sure you're not Alex's kid?" He asks with a snort.

"So because Kara's my mom I have to wear dresses and cardigans? That's a stupid concept." You roll your eyes, moving on to the t-shirts.

"No, it's just- you don't seem to be very 'Kara-like' that's all. And for someone that was raised by her, I figured you'd be more alike." He says with a shrug. 

"So what you're saying is that, if someone raises you, you have to be like them in some way? Because you don't strike me as a mass murderer." You point out, raising your eyebrow in challenge. "Unless there's something you need to tell me, _Toyman Jr._."

He just stands there with his mouth open for a good 10 seconds before he manages to say something. "You know about my dad?" He asks quietly, looking around nervously.

"Of course. Everyone knows about your dad Winn, you have the _exact_ same name." You laugh. "But everyone also knows that you're nothing like him, so breathe." You say as you grab a few items to try on. "But my point is, I might not eat or dress similarly to mom, but that doesn't mean she isn't my _mom_." You respond with a shrug as you walk towards the dressing rooms. But then you stop in your tracks and turn around to face him. "Wait, you don't think I'm lying do you?"

"What?! No, of course not! I'm sorry; it was a stupid thing to say." He apologizes quickly.

You hum suspiciously before finally entering a dressing room.

You wonder what would happen if Winn started to doubt you. Would he turn you in? You know he didn't take his phone with him because, _hello_ , but he could totally drag you back to the DEO, you really don't weight much. Or he could just yell for Supergirl, she'd certainly hear him.

"Is she around a lot?" You hear from behind the curtain separating you from the outside world as you're trying on some jeans.

"What?" You ask, confused and distracted.

"Kara. Is she… you know, around? Or is she too busy with her _activities_?" He asks in a whisper though you're pretty sure that apart from the couple of employees you saw when you  
walked in, you're the only ones here.

"Oh yeah, she always makes time for us. Me and Ma' I mean." You say, putting a burgundy sweater on top of your shirt.

"So her duties don't get in the way too much?" He asks as you take the sweater off, not satisfied.

"No. Well; they _might_. But if she knows that you guys or the NCPD can handle it, then she'd rather stay home with us." You reply as you step out of the stall, the clothes you want to get in hand. "Okay, enough questions, we need to be at L-Corp by 9am at the latest." You say, walking over to the cashier.

"Why?" Winn questions confused, already taking out his wallet.

"Jess takes a break at 9:05 every morning to get a refill of coffee. That's when we'll sneak in." You explain, grabbing the bag handed to you with a smile. "So we need to get a move on."

"We're going to _sneak into_ L-Corp? Do you have a death wish?! The security there is insane!" Winn panics, making you laugh.

"We'll be fine, come on."

* * *

"So listen, once we get to L-Corp, I need you to tell the security guards that you're here to see Jess and that it's a surprise." You explain once you're only a few minutes away from your destination.

"I thought we were sneaking in?" Winn asks confused.

"We can't just sneak into L-Corp, we'll just sneak past Jess when the time comes. But to do that, she can't know we're coming. So, pretend you went on a date or something and that you're surprising her with the pastries today, alright?" You ask, walking a little bit faster now, excited/nervous to reach the building. 

"Will they buy it? I mean, L-Corp's security is _really_ tight." You can see him starting to sweat.

"Don't worry, you look just like her type, they shouldn't question us too much, but you need to sell this." You warn. You don't want to think about what might happen if he doesn't.

"Should I use my real name? What do you mean by her type anyway? And who should I say you are? Wouldn't they find it weird that a kid is with me?" He asks, breathing fast.

"Winn, relax." You say firmly, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, a business man almost bumping into you as he's walking fast looking down at his phone. "Use your real name, L-Corp has a facial recognition system that will identify you even before we walk into the building; you're Jess' type because you're awkward and nerdy, and it doesn't matter who I am, just say whatever comes to mind, as long as you sell it right we should be just fine." You explain slowly. "You can do this Winn."

"Wouldn't the facial recognition system alert them that you, you know, _don't exist_? Also how do you know about this? I didn't and I've looked _thoroughly_ into this company." He asks suspiciously.

"Don't worry, for legal reasons they can't use it on minors. And my mom works here remember, so I know stuff you don't, deal with it." You reply with a smirk. "Now come on, we can't be late."

As you start walking again you can hear him muttering to himself and it makes you shake your head in amusement but hopefully he's just giving himself a pep talk.

Once you finally see the building in his full glory your breath catches a little.  
It looks different. Most of it is the same but it's the little things that make you feel weird. There is no one lingering outside. In your time, there are always several food trucks parked in front of the building, and employees and guests often come down here on breaks. You've been there with your ma' more times than you can count.

But here, people are just going in and out, barely looking at each other and that's when you remember the conversation your moms had with you a few years ago about the Luthors reputation.  
In this time, people still fear them, fear _her_. Which honestly seems insane to you because Lena Luthor is such a softy.

But you find yourself smiling anyway, because in a little less than a decade, people finally realize how good your ma' is and _finally_ show her the love and respect she deserves.

"You're ready?" You ask Winn, shaking yourself out of your thoughts before grabbing his hand. _You gotta sell this._

"Nope." He says but starts walking as confidently as he can towards the front doors.

* * *

One of the security guards has been staring at the both of you in silence for a good minute now and you can feel Winn's hand becoming clammy in yours.

He seems to be the last step between the lobby you're awkwardly standing in and the elevator and you pray to Rao that he lets you through.

You've gone through metal detectors, Winn got a full body search, and they even cut open the pastries to make sure there was nothing foreign in there, and yet they are still hesitant to let you up.

As planned, Winn pretended that he was here to see Jess, and he was so flushed and nervous that they believed him instantly (one of the guards even laughed at him), but he _is_ Toyman's son, and once they had figured that out, they had become a lot more reluctant to give you access to the building.

"How do you know Miss Huang?" The guard asks. He's not frowning, or showing any emotion really, which makes a shiver run down your spine. You _know_ what L-Corp security is capable of after all.

"As- As I told your colleague, Jess and I went on a date a couple days ago. And I'm here to surprise her." Winn replies shakily, showing the guard the pastries he's holding.

"I'm aware; but how did you make her acquaintance, Mr. Schott?" He asks firmly, taking a step closer to the both of you, staring Winn straight in the eyes, making him even more nervous than he was.

You can see that Winn is starting to struggle, he can't come up with anything and the guard's hand is slowly moving to his holster, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. 

"It was a blind date!" You exclaim, surprising yourself and everyone around.

"Pardon me?" The guard asks, turning to you perplexed.

"My uncle Winn thinks that admitting to people that it was a blind date will make him seem less manly because he couldn't get the girl on his own you know? But I think that's stupid, so just tell him that Kara set you up with Jess, Winnie, there's no shame." You say quickly, turning to Winn at the end with a look that screams _'Don't screw this up'._

"Right yes, that's… what happened." Winn says, looking at the guard with a nod.

"Oh, Miss Kara from Catco?" The guard asks but doesn't wait for an answer. "She comes here often, such a sweet girl." He says, looking at us with a smile before backing up and using his keycard to activate the elevator for us.  
"Say hi to her for her when you see her next alright? And good luck with Jess, Mr. Schott." He finishes with a wink before going back to his original post next to another guard.

"Thank- thank you." Winn stutters out, and before he can say anything else, you drag him inside the elevator.

You press the button for the 23rd floor and wait for the doors to close and the elevator to start moving before turning to Winn.

"There are at least 15 ways this could have gone better. Literally. Like, I'm counting them right now." You say, crossing your arms and raising an eyebrow at his still flushed complexion.

"Well _excuse me_ but I'm not an actor alright? I didn't sign up for this!" He whisper-yells at you with wild hand gestures.

"You insisted on coming with, so yeah, you kinda did." You reply with a laugh as the doors of the elevator open back up.

You walk out, making sure to grab Winn's hand in yours again so that you can guide him. You directly go for the bathroom and lock the door behind the both of you.

"What are we doing?" Winn asks in a whisper.

"It's only 9:04; we have to wait for Jess to move." You explain quietly, pointing at the watch on his wrist so that he can see for himself.

"Okay, and then what?" 

"And then we sneak into Lena Luthor's office and pray that she doesn't press the silent alarm before we can explain." 

His eyes go wide and he opens his mouth to say something but you quickly cover it with your hand because you can hear familiar heels walking past the bathroom in the direction of the break room.

"Shut up." You whisper before removing your hand." Let's go." You order, almost pushing him out the door.

You see him try to say something again but you firmly shake your head, "There's no time. Walk." You say firmly, pushing him in the direction of the CEO's office.

You quickly walk towards Jess empty desk and grab the pastry bag from Winn's hand before depositing it in front of her computer.

Winn still looks panicked but you don't try to reassure him because you _really_ don't have time, but you grab him by the hand again and open the double doors that lead to Lena's office and walk in before locking the doors behind you.

"Jess, what's going-" The brunette starts but stops as she notices that you two are definitely not her assistant.

The first thing that you notice is that she looks exactly the same. Like eerily the same. You've seen pictures of your moms when they were younger so you knew that she wouldn't look much different, but seeing it with your own two eyes makes it just weird.  
This version of Lena could easily be your ma', the one from your time. 

But it's not and that's exactly why you're here.

You see her right hand moving to where you know her silent alarm is and you panic slightly.

"Don't! Please, we just need your help." You plead and she hesitates. She looks at you for a moment, unmoving but then she moves her gaze to Winn and her eyes widen just slightly. 

"Mr. Schott?" She asks confused. "What's going on?" 

"Lena, hi." Winn says awkwardly with a wave. "I'm uh- not sure?" He says wincing at his own admission. "Lori?"

"Lori?" Lena repeats confused, her eyes settling back on you. "How did you two get in here? Security should have alerted me, and if not them, then Jess." She asks, but is really mostly talking to herself.  
"Where is my assistant Mr. Schott?" She looks angry now and Winn takes a step back even though you're already standing on the other side of the room.

"She's on her 9am coffee break." You say quickly, trying to diffuse the situation, taking a few steps closer to her. "She's fine." You assure the brunette, who seems to relax just slightly. 

"But she clearly didn't let you in here, so again, what's going on?" She demands, standing from her seat and walking closer to her purse where you know she keeps her beloved taser.

"No need for that." You say softly, gesturing to the purse. "We're not here to hurt you; we just need your help with something."

She looks a little scared when she understand that you knew exactly why she was walking closer to her purse, and Winn, who has noticed too, walks closer to the both of you and explains softly.

"Listen, this is going to sound bad but yes, we lied to your security downstairs and sneaked past Jess in order to get to you, which to be honest I'm still a little confused about," he says pensively, looking at you briefly, "but we don't mean you any harm, it's just… complicated."

"Well then explain." She says firmly, crossing her arms defensively.

"Well, this is Lori." Winn starts hesitantly, pointing at you. "We're here to see her mother. But I guess we need you first." He says with a frown.

"Are you serious?" You ask him in disbelief.

"What?" He answers confused.

"You're _actually_ telling me that you haven't figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?" He asks with panicked eyes. "Oh my god, is this a prank?! J'onn and Alex are behind this aren't they?" he asks, looking around the room for what you're guessing are hidden cameras.

"Winn, shut up!" You yell, making him freeze. 

You take a moment to breathe before focusing back on a confused looking Lena Luthor.

"My name is Lori." You say slowly. "Long story short, I'm from the future. I somehow ended up at the DEO with no recollection of what happened, Winn helped me break out, and now I need your help because I know you've been working on time travel for the past few years."

Lena is silent for a good while, Winn hasn't dared to move yet either so for a moment there it almost feels like time has stopped.

"Why would you need to break out of the DEO? Wouldn't they help you?" She settles on asking, and it makes Winn react.

"Wait a minute, how do you know about the DEO?" He wonders, confused.

"Mr. Schott, you hacked my company with a DEO server, it's entirely your fault." She replies simply before looking back you.

You laugh at the look on Winn's face because you know it's not true. Lena knew about the DEO even before moving to National City, only because they aren't as discreet as they like to think. Plus, you can't keep much from a Luthor.

"They could have probably helped, but they don't believe me. And since I don't know how I got here it could mean that my family, my time, is in danger. So I need to go back sooner than later."

"And do what? You're 8." She asks with a scoff.

"I'm _10_." You reply offended. "And I'll do whatever I need to do."

She hums pensively, leaning against her desk, clearly not feeling threatened anymore.

"How do you know about my work on time travel? Apart from Jess, no one knows about it." She asks suspiciously.

"You told me all about it, like, 2 years ago." You explain with a shrug.

"And why on earth would I tell a _child_ about a confidential project of mine?" she asks with another scoff.

"Well, for one, it's not top secret in the future, and you didn't just tell _a_ child, you told _your_ child. As a matter of fact, it was my bedtime story for a few weeks." You respond with a smirk, and immediately her face falls.

"You're-" She starts shakily but gets interrupted.

"WHAT?!" Winn yells out.

"And he finally understands." You say to yourself, rolling your eyes.

You hear someone trying to open the door to Lena's office but thankfully, you locked it from the inside.

"Miss Luthor?" You hear a panicked Jess ask from the other side of the door. "Is everything alright? Do you need me to call security?"

"But that means that- Oh my god!" Winn is still yelling and Lena is still in shock.

"Miss Luthor?!" Jess asks again when she receives no answer from her boss.

"Everything is alright Jess." Lena answers just loud enough for her secretary to hear her. "Please cancel my meetings for the rest of the day."

"Of course, Miss Luthor." Is the last thing you hear from Jess before Winn starts yelling again.

"Lori! You didn't tell me Lena _freaking_ Luthor was your mother!" 

"Why would I when I get the joy of seeing you freak out over it now?" You ask laughing. "Honestly I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out."

"Because it's _Lena_! And that means that her and… okay, I think I need to sit down." He says as he moves to the couch in the CEO's office.

"You're my daughter? I have a daughter?" Lena asks softly.

"You do, and I am." You confirm with a nod.

"But you're- what year are you from?" She asks shakily.

"2031." You say with a small smile.

"And you're 10 years old?" She asks again.

"Yes."

"So in, what, 4 years, I'm going to have a _baby_?" She asks in disbelief.

"No, you guys only take me in when I'm 5." You reply with a laugh.

"Oh my god." You hear Winn mutter from the back of the room.

"So I'm with someone then? Someone that wanted to have a kid, with _me_?" She asks almost in awe and your heart breaks a little.

"Yeah, someone that loves you more than you can imagine." You say softly with a smile.

"But who?" She asks almost inaudibly.

"I can't believe Kara wouldn't tell me she had a thing for _Lena Luthor_." Winn mutters to himself again and you send him a fiery look.

"Winn!" His head snaps up and his eyes widen when he realizes what he just said.

"Oh my god, I-"

" _Kara?_ " Lena asks and when you look back at her she's looking at you with so much hope in her eyes that you can't possibly lie to her. 

_Fuck the timeline_. Worst case scenario, you'll beg J'onn to erase that part of her memory.

"Yeah." You affirm with a nod. "My full name is Lorelai Luthor-Danvers."

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays everyone! 
> 
> Once again, so sorry for the wait, I've been really busy lately but hopefully it was worth the wait.  
> Thank you again for reading, and feel free to let me know what you thought of it, I love reading your comments!
> 
> Enjoy! :)

* * *

"And you're completely certain that we're talking about the same Kara here? Kara _Danvers_." Lena asks and you roll your eyes at her fondly.

"Let's see," You start with a laugh, "Reporter for Catco Worldwide Media, usually eats for 5 people, incapable of keeping secrets even though she's convinced she can, last daughter of Krypton, Kara Danvers?" You ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, same one then." Lena agrees with a shaky nod before going to sit next to Winn on the couch.

You're just sitting down on the glass table so that you're facing them both when Winn realizes what just happened and his head shoots up almost comically.

"Hold on!" He exclaims turning quickly to look at Lena. "You _know_!" He accuses, pointing what he probably hopes to be a threatening finger at the CEO.

"That my best friend is Supergirl? Please, I'm not _that_ stupid. It's just glasses and a ponytail." Lena replies with a scoff and a roll of her eyes.

"But- you never said anything." He replies confused.

"And to whom would I say something to, Mr. Schott?" She asks bitterly and it makes you flinch. "My entourage isn't very big, in case you haven't noticed."

That seems to shut him up for a second and when he speaks again, he sounds apologetic.

"Does Kara know?" He asks softly.

"I don't believe so, no." Lena answers with a shake of her head. "I've been waiting for her to come to me about it, but it hasn't happened yet." 

"It will." You chip in with a knowing smile.

"I would hope so considering we have a _child_ together." Lena replies with a nervous laugh.

"It's so _weird_." Winn mutters looking between you and Lena.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the brunette looks up and studies every inch of your face for a few moments, silence filling the room.

"Are you happy?" She asks softly and you instantly recognize the Lena you met 5 years ago.

When you first met them, Lena was so soft, always so careful and quiet with you, not wanting to overwhelm you. Kara was the opposite; in a good way. She was loud and funny and always made you join her dance parties as she cooked breakfast for the 3 of you. They balanced each other perfectly. 

"So happy." You reply just as softly, dimples showing with how much you're smiling.

You see her tear up and you know it's because she's relieved. Relieved and happy that she has a daughter that loves her and that your relationship isn't similar to the one she had with Lillian. 

"Can I hug you?" She asks in a whisper and you don’t hesitate to launch yourself at her, wrapping your arms around her neck and holding on tight.

You've missed her _so much_.

" _Oh_." She whispers as she hugs you back slowly, still so careful.

You stay there for a couple minutes, neither of you moving, just holding each other, before you pull back with a soft smile and slide off her lap to sit between her and Winn on the couch.

"Kara, how- how did she react?" She asks quietly, nervously playing with her hands.

"She wasn't… thrilled?" You start, but as you see the look of panic appear in her eyes, you try to backtrack, "Not about the being married to you part though! Just about the… _me_ part, I guess." You explain with a shrug. "I didn't tell her about you anyway, I was scared it would mess up the timeline."

"But you told _me_ , isn't that a little risky? I mean, what if it changes everything?" She asks quickly, now clearly a little panicked.

"Well, let's hope not!" You reply with a nervous laugh. "But I really need you to send me back so that I don't have to worry about it anymore." 

"But- my research isn't done, the machine _doesn't work_. The wormhole replica keeps on collapsing, I've been working on that alone for months, I haven't been able to stabilize it so far." She replies painfully, looking at you with sorrow.

"So let me get this clear." Winn speaks up, taking a deep breath. You had almost forgotten he was here. "We broke out of the DEO, bought food for a girl that I'm apparently supposed to know but have never even _heard of_ before, bought you clothes so that you could blend in easily, came all the way here, lied to a bunch of people that could have _easily_ killed us, and all of that for _nothing_?!"

"It wasn't for nothing Winn; she's the smartest person in National City, and a Luthor, we can figure this out." You assure him calmly.

"You say that like it's a good thing." Lena says with wonder in her voice.

"What?" 

"Me being a Luthor, when you talk about it, it sounds like it's a good thing. The only person that has ever done that is Kara." She admits quietly, and you can tell she's touched, and maybe a little overwhelmed at the thought.

"It _is_ a good thing. I know that right now people's opinions of you are based on what your family has done but they'll see the light." You reply with a confident nod. "Mom is only the first of many." 

"Okay this is sweet, but we need a plan here." Winn interrupts, clapping his hands once to grab your attention.

"Well we should go down to the lab and see what we're working with. I don't remember everything from the stories you told me, but maybe something will come back. And we should bring Jess." You list off as you stand up and walk to the door.

"Jess?" Winn asks confused.

"She may be my assistant Mr. Schott, but Jess has a computer science and engineering degree from MIT and has helped me on many occasions." Lena replies as she joins you next to the door.

" _Interesting_." He replies with a smirk, which makes you chuckle, and gets up. Or tries to; because as soon as he's up, he's falling back down on the couch, screeching in fear at the blur flying through the closed, and previously intact, door of the CEO's balcony.

Kara lands in the middle of the office as glass flies everywhere, thankfully not harming any of you, but the sudden noise scares you and you reflexively hide behind Lena, who wraps an arm around you instinctively.

"Lena!" Kara shouts in fear, quickly walking over to her and grabbing her hand, tugging her away from you.

"Supergirl-" She tries to protest but doesn't get very far.

"You're safe now Miss Luthor." The blonde says confidently and you see your ma' rolling her eyes, and in the middle of the chaos, you almost burst out laughing at her attitude. _Almost_.

"Oh my god, please don't kill me, I'm _so_ sorry." Winn begs as he stands up cautiously, holding his hands up, looking at Kara with puppy eyes.

"I won't have to, Alex called dibs." Kara replies icily, not taking her eyes off of you.

"Oh lord." Winn whines, sitting back down, head in his hands.

"Supergirl-" Lena tries again but is once more interrupted.

"Miss Luthor?!" Comes from behind the door you're standing next to.

"I'm alright Jess, no need to panic." Lena calls back calmly, and you hear Jess walking away after a few seconds, muttering to herself.

"Agents are on their way up, you have nowhere to go." Kara warns you, and the tone of voice she uses to address you makes you shake in fear a little. You obviously know what your mom is capable of, and being on the receiving end of her threats doesn't feel good at all.

"I don't exactly have anywhere to go Mom!" You yell back in frustration, angry tears appearing in your eyes.

"I'm not your mom!" She yells back just as frustrated, taking a threatening step towards you, all the while keeping Lena safely behind her.

You look at her for a second, hurt. Your mom would never speak to you this way. Hell, she would never even yell when you're around. She never wanted you to see this side of hers; the side that deals with criminals.

" _Clearly_." You reply cuttingly, wiping away a tear, moving to sit next to Winn, not caring about her yelling at you not to move.

"Lori…" Lena whispers, trying to get closer to you but Kara stops her with a hand on her arm.

"Miss Luthor." The blonde warns, shaking her head.

"Supergirl, she's-"

"Freeze!" Alex yells as she bursts into the room, kicking the door open, followed by a few other agents. Jess is also following closely being them looking annoyed, clearly trying to understand what _the hell_ is going on. You're glad your ma' gives her a promotion in the future, she definitely deserves it.

Despite the guns you know are being pointed at you, you don't look up from your lap, not acknowledging Alex's presence.

"STOP!" Lena yells as soon as there's a second of silence, surprising everyone.

"Lena-" Kara starts with a frown.

"Miss Luthor, this girl escaped from our facility; she might be dangerous and needs to be detained." Alex explains firmly, her gun and gaze still on you.

"I'm not dangerous!" You yell angrily, standing up suddenly. "I'm 10 years old, and as I'm sure your test results have proven by now, I'm completely human. So please explain to me how that makes me dangerous, because I'm at a loss here." 

"You _escaped_." Alex points out, almost snarling at you.

"Because you wouldn't help me! I just want to go _home_!" You cry out, voice cracking on the last word, the tears you've been trying to stop finally spilling out.

You sit back down defeated, shoulders shaking with every sob, and this time, Kara isn't able to hold off Lena from going to you.  
In a flash, she's kneeling in front of you, as much as she can in her pencil skirt, and rubbing your arms soothingly, telling you that everything is going to be alright. Your tears fall a little faster at that.

"Lena, step away from her. She could be lying." Kara warns, taking a cautious step towards the couch.

"She knows stuff, about us. She's not lying." Winn points out suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention, including yours.

"You look pretty good for a dead man." Alex replies coldly, now pointing her gun at him while instructing the other agents to keep theirs on you.

"Look, I know I messed up but she can't possibly be lying. She knew exactly when Jess wouldn't be at her desk and she knew what to say to the guards downstairs. We need to help her." Winn says calmly, for once standing up to Alex. You're a little proud.

"Oh. Maybe I should switch up my schedule." Jess says with a frown from the back of the room.

"Don't." You tell her quickly, and after a second, she nods her agreement though she looks at you puzzled.

"She might not be lying about being from the future, but she could be lying about who she is. We can't take any chances; she could have an ulterior motive. For example, why did you guys come here in the first place? Sounds like another assassination attempt on a Luthor if you ask me." Alex says, raising an eyebrow at Lena when she sees her still trying to comfort you.

"I would _never_." You say angrily. "I'm not a killer, I'm just a _kid_. And I would never hurt my- hurt Lena."

"Then why are you here?!" Alex asks again, taking a step closer to you, keeping her gun on Winn.

"Because that's what she told me to do!" You yell back, making everyone in the room pause and look at each other in confusion. You take a few deep breaths before continuing. "Lena, the one from my time, taught me what to do in case I ever ended up in the wrong time. And she told me to go and find her. So I did." You explain slowly. "Time travel, teleportation, even travels to other earths, are a lot more common in 2031. They're not accessible to the public, but accidents happen, so she wanted to be sure I wouldn't be completely lost if I ever got lost in time, for whatever reason. The DEO may have alien technology and great personnel, but Lena has the brain for this type of thing."

"We're with the FBI." Alex says firmly, only breaking eye contact with you to look at Lena for a second, who meets her gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"The hills are alive, with the sound of bullshit." Jess mutters from the back, but everyone hears her very clearly and turns around to look at her, baffled; except for Lena, that barely suppresses a laugh. But in true Jess fashion, she just shrugs and walks away, going back to her desk to keep on working. 

"No need to lie Agent Danvers, I'm well aware of your true occupation." Lena comments, standing up slowly but staying by your side. "I'll sign a NDA if you need me to, but right now we need to focus on getting Lori home." She says in the tone that she usually only uses with her board members. 

"But if you _are_ my daughter, wouldn't future-me come and get you? I don't exactly see myself leaving my kid stranded in time." Kara asks you, stepping in front of Alex, forcing her to lower her gun.

" _I_ don't even know how I got here, so I'm not sure you do either. And maybe something happened to you, I don't know." You reply with a shrug and a sad frown.

The blonde still doesn't look totally convinced, but you can tell that what you're saying makes sense to her, in a way.   
Honestly though, as long as they don't lock you up, you don't care if they believe you or not. At least Lena does and frankly, it's her you need the most.

"Maybe we should try and contact your time then, instead of trying to build a freaking time machine." Alex chimes in, holstering her gun with a huff and stepping around Kara, mentioning to the other agents to lower their weapons as well.

"Technically the time machine is already built, Agent Danvers." Lena retorts with a smirk, crossing her arms.

" _What_?" Alex asks, a little caught off guard. "You managed to build a time machine? Can I see it?"

"Obviously it isn't operational; otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. And you may see it, later, as long as you sign an NDA." Lena adds with a small, knowing smile.

"Okay, that's fair." Alex says with a nod.

"But I suppose you are right, we should focus on contacting, well, the future." Lena says as if she doesn't quite believe what just came out of her mouth.

"How are we going to do that?" You ask puzzled.

"I can probably build a trans-temporal communicator of some sort." Winn says with a shrug, looking at Alex as if asking for permission.

"You think you can pull that off?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Alone? Hell no. But with you and Lena? Piece of cake." He responds with a big smile.

"But hold on, wouldn't they, need to have a communicator too, to hear us?" You ask to no one in particular.

"Not if I can hack a signal." Winn replied with a shrug.

"Your plan is to hack something that doesn't exist yet? Yeah, makes perfect sense." You say sarcastically.

"But if we build one now, in this time, wouldn't it automatically exist then, too?" Kara asks.

"Depends. Time is… strange. What is happening now might not have caught up with them, _us_ , yet." Lena says regretfully.

"That's why they don't know where I am. You do, so technically future-you should too, but it might take days, weeks even, for future-you to remember. What I do now doesn't have an impact on the future yet." You explain slowly. You're so thankful you listened in school when they taught you about all this stuff.

"So what do we do?" Kara asks with a sigh, looking defeated.

"If I can build the communicator and connect it to Lori's timeline, they might be able to hear us if they have a similar device. We should give it a try, we have nothing to lose." Winn offers with a shrug.

"Except time." You reply quietly.

* * *

You're in Lena's apartment, awkwardly sitting on the couch with Kara, still dressed as Supergirl, while Lena, Winn, Jess and Alex are in the brunette's private lab at L-Corp, working on the trans-temporal communicator.

"The food should be here soon." The blonde says, clearing her throat.

"You should have gotten it yourself, it would have been faster." You point out, looking around at the living room.

It's pretty, if not a little bare. You'd seen it in pictures before, but from the time your moms were dating so the place was a little more decorated, more homey; right now it looks a little… sad. There are no pictures hanging, no art; just blank white walls.

"And leave you alone? No." Kara answers with a scoff.

"I'm not going to run away or wreak havoc you know? I _need_ you guys." You answer sadly.

"I know, but you're still a child, I can't just _leave you_." 

"I'm not incompetent, I can survive on my own for 5 minutes." You answer rolling your eyes.

She looks at you for a moment, and finally decides to ask the question she's had on her mind since you showed up, though she does still look somewhat hesitant.

"Who- Who's your other mom?" 

"I can't tell you." You reply regretfully. "I don't want to mess up the-"

"The timeline, yeah, I know." She interrupts with a huff.

"Why are you so upset with all of this? I mean I get that it's a little overwhelming to have your daughter from the future show up out of nowhere, but… to see you be so- so disappointed with everything, it hurts." You ask softly, really hoping that you won't regret asking her.

"I just- It's weird okay? All of this. Me, being _married_. And while I never pictured myself with a woman before, it doesn't feel as strange as everything else. I mean, I have a _daughter_? Well, allegedly, but still." She says, stopping to gather her thoughts before looking straight at you. "Being the last daughter of Krypton, Supergirl, and an alien, I never thought I'd have a family of my own. Of course I have Alex and Eliza, and my friends; but a wife and a daughter?" She shakes her head in disbelief. "Yeah, like you said, it's a little overwhelming." She admits with a hollow laugh.

"I'm sorry." You reply sadly. "Believe me, while it's kind of cool seeing you guys so young and different, I'd much rather be home."

"It's not your fault. Well, I don't think it is anyway." She answers with a real chuckle this time, and a little smile.

"I hope not, otherwise you and ma' are going to _kill_ me." You reply quickly. "Or well, future-you, I mean." You correct yourself.

"It's fine." She assures you, and gets up just before the delivery guy rings the bell.

"Food's here!" She announces happily, as if that wasn't obvious.

You burst out laughing at the look on the guy's face when he realizes that Supergirl just answered the door.

* * *

"So, you only get adopted when you're 5?" Kara asks as she grabs another slice of pizza, eyes still focused on the movie you both picked out, though neither of you are really paying attention.

"Yup." 

"And why were you- I mean…" She stutters awkwardly, turning her head to look at you.

"Why was I in the system?" You ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Well," you start with a sigh, "my parents left me in front of a firehouse when I was 3; and having no other relatives, I was put in the system. I went through a few foster homes, the last one being yours, while my parents were charged with child abandonment and got their parental rights terminated; and then, well, you adopted me." You answer with a shrug, taking a sip from your orange juice.

Kara is silent when you look back at her, eyes filled with pity and it annoys you.

"Don't look at me like that." You groan out. "It happened, it's in the past. I'm happy now. I've got the greatest family on the planet, and I wouldn't change a thing okay?" 

"If you could, would you?" She asks quietly.

"What?"

"If you could change _something_ , change your future, would you?" 

"No." You answer easily. "Being a part of this family is the best thing that could have ever happened to me." 

She smiles softly and moves her gaze back to the screen, apparently happy with your answer.

"You know," you start hesitantly; "you should stop giving terrible clues to Lena, and just tell her who you really are already."

She pauses the movie and quickly eats the last bit of her pizza before turning to fully focus on you.

"It was the 'I flew here on a bus' that was too much wasn't it? Rao I knew it! But I just want her to figure it out already! J'onn doesn't trust her yet and _ordered_ me not to say anything, so I thought that if she figures it out herself, technically it's not my fault you know? But it's taking _forever_."

"I _know_ , I'm from the future remember?" You laugh. "But seriously, just do it. J'onn will survive. Plus he does like her; he just doesn't want to admit it."

(Yes, you are aware that technically you shouldn't interfere with the future like that but, your ma' knows already, so is speeding up the identity reveal really _changing_ the future?)

"Okay but what about Alex?" She asks worriedly.

"What about her?"

"She'll be mad at me again for not being able to keep a secret. And I _hate_ fighting with Alex."

"Well you're not exactly trying to keep a secret, quite the contrary." You point out, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

"I'll think about it." She answers with a sigh after a few seconds before going back to the movie.

You manage to make it to the credits before you see her tilting her head to the side, a clear indication that she can hear someone needing Supergirl's help. 

"You can go if you need to; I promise I won't go anywhere." You speak up quietly so that you don't startle her.

"It's fine, I asked Kal-El to help out so that I could stay here and deal with everything happening with you." She says with a wave of her hand, settling back into the couch.

"You called _Clark_?!" You ask loudly.

"Yes…?" 

"Oh Rao." You mumble. "Did you tell him about me?"

"No, I just told him we had a situation at the DEO. Why?" 

"I don't like him." You say tightly. "And he doesn't like me."

"Oh." She says confused. "Well, uh, we don't have to tell him that _you're_ the situation I guess." She offers with an awkward shrug.

"This is _not_ going to be fun."

* * *

"I can't believe you got stabbed with a giant knitting needle." You hear Lena say, amused, as she opens the door to her apartment, followed by Alex and Winn.

"College was _wild_." Alex replies with a laugh. 

"Hey guys." Kara says, looking at the laughing group with a confused frown.

"So?" You ask hopefully.

"We're about halfway there; the device wasn't the hard part." Winn starts but stops when Lena coughs loudly. "Okay well, to be completely honest I had some trouble with it but Lena was here to save the day, and Jess is working on hacking a signal as we speak." Winn says as he comes to sit next to you. "Once that's done we'll be able to calibrate it properly."

"Okay." You accept with a nod. "Thank you." You say gratefully.

"We'll figure it out." He assures you with a smile.

"Lena, could we maybe talk in private?" Kara asks quietly.

The brunette turns to look at her with raised eyebrows as she takes off her coat, then looks at you in confusion, but you just shrug and she nods.

"Of course Supergirl." 

They go to the back of the apartment, where you suppose Lena's bedroom is and the living room turns completely quiet. Until Alex talks that is.

"So do you think they're making out?"

"Gross." You groan out, making the other two laugh loudly.

* * *


End file.
